Editor,
As quoted by Steve Virkler in an article in the WDT, dated September 26, 2009, "It's frustrating," Mr. Thisse said. "We worked so hard to get to where we were."
Does Mr.Thisse realize how frustrating the entire project is to those who have been raped of the prestigious quality of life?? Individuals worked "so hard" all of their lives to pay for their homes and businesses to be stripped by the greediness of the Martinsburg Town Board. Have any of the members publicly announced that THEY have personal contracts with the developer of Maple Ridge?? This is NOT exclusive to the Town of Martinsburg, it includes town officials form all towns encompassed in the project, Harrisburg and Lowville being the other two.
It is now time, with another project near completion of the permitting process, for the taxpayers and residents of these towns to step forward and end the deceitful actions of developers, ENABLED by these town governments. Some may think that the dollar sign is all that matters, but to many who appreciate the peaceful way of life, you cannot put a price tag on it. I personally know of many people in the tri-town area that have had their dreams shattered...their "American Dream." The few landowners that have benefited financially can be thanked for ruining the lives of many others. The land and school tax bills that I have seen in the past three years, have all increased. I warned them all to save their pennies before the next tax bills come in the mail.. I can see many losing their property because the total tax bill will be impossible to pay.
The county attorney's quotes in the aforementioned article should not have any bearing on your thoughts. I personally listened at Albany Law School while Mr. Graham made several FALSE statements when referring to the nonparticipating landowners. I therefore cannot find any of his statements as reality. He led the officials to believe that the PILOT was a sure thing while advising them to sign it with the default rate which is what will be paid from now on. As stated in the same article, " a $6.3 million drop in combined wind-farm revenue for area governments." Do the math, what impact will that have on YOUR taxes next year? Unlike Grahams statement implies, Maple Ridge Wind does NOT qualify for Empire Zone status. The $8.6 million, now equals $2.3 million to be split amongst all municipalities involved!
Residents, taxpayers, you are going to be even worse off if the Roaring Brook project is allowed to happen in Martinsburg. Your taxes will increase even more, more of your neighbors will be wrongfully stripped of their "American Dream." How would you like them to do it to you? They are moral individuals and would NEVER let it happen to you if there was anything in their power that they could do to prevent it.
Please attend the Martinsburg Planning Board meeting on October 7th at 6 p.m. and tell them enough is enough. Love they neighbor as thyself.
Most Passionately,
Anne Britton
Citizen's Power Alliance
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